Snubber for stranding cabler



March 20, 1962 c, CROSBY ETAL 3,026,010

SNUBBER FOR STRANDING CABLER Filed March 9, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet l March 20, 1962 c. H. CROSBY ETAL 3,026,010

SNUBBER FOR STRANDING CABLER Filed March 9' V1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 \1 I I W I ,0 i

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SNUBBER FOR STRANDING CABLER Filed March 9, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 5'4 7 FI' g; a

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3,026,010 SNUBBER FOR STRANDING CABLER Charles H. Crosby, Cranford, William T. Hicks, Glen Rock, Frank Wahl, North Bergen, and Roger R. Wahlberg, Bloomfield, N.J., assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 798,120 9 Claims. (Cl. 226-150) This invention relates to snubbers for material advancing apparatus particularly apparatus for forming cables of various lengths.

In apparatus for forming cables, suitable means must be provided to hold the cable when lengths have been cut therefrom to prevent the strands or wires from reversing their direction of travel. This may be accomplished by suitable means, but the timing of its action, not only in gripping the material or cable and the releasing of the material or cable after its longitudinal movement is renewed, is of great importance.

An object of the present invention is a snubber which is highly efficient in readily gripping material and releasing the material when its longitudinal advancement begins.

In accordance with the object, the invention comprises a snubber in an apparatus for advancing material longitudinally in a given path by an advancing unit, the snubber, including relatively movable jaws, responsive to the advancing means of the unit to firmly grip the material when the unit stops advancing the material, the jaws also being operable into open position when the unit again operates to advance the material.

More specifically, the jaws of the snubber are carried by a movable support normally held in a position to prevent reverse movement of the material when gripped by the jaws, but moved with the material a short distance when the material is advanced along its path, to free a switch to open a circuit through a solenoid valve to operate a piston to move the jaws into their open positions.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the snubber showing the jaws thereof in Solid lines in open position and in broken lines in gripping position,

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the electro-pneumatic control for the snubber illustrating the snubber in open position, and

FIG. 4 is substantially the same as FIG. 3 illustrating the snubber in closed position.

The snubber indicated generally at may be mounted in or adjacent a material advancing apparatus. In the present instance, the material is a cable formed of strands or conductors and the snubber is mounted in a cable forming apparatus having an advancing means 11 which may be the conventional take-up unit for apparatus of this type, or it may include also an auxiliary advancing means such as the conventional tractor capstan.

The snubber 10 includes spaced jaws 14 carrying gripping pads 15 at their outer ends and having their inner ends fixedly mounted on shafts 16. The shafts 16 extend through suitable bushings 17 mounted in apertures in vertical walls 18 of a support 19. The support 19 is mounted at one corner on a pivot 20, the ends of which are disposed in aligned apertures 21 of a housing 22. The housing 22 is fixed at 2-3 upon a suitable base or floor 24 to locate the jaws 14 and 15 upon each side of a path any of three ways.

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through which a material 25 is advanced by the advancing means 11.

The support 19 has an air cylinder 26 mounted on its under surface, the cylinder having air lines 27 and 28 connected respectively to the top and bottom thereof. A piston 30 in the air cylinder 26 has a piston rod 31 extending vertically through the top of the cylinder and provided with a threaded portion 33 upon which a yoke 34 is mounted. The yoke 34 carries a pin 35 on which a roller-type sleeve 36 is disposed. Levers 37 are fixed to their respective shafts 16 and provided with bifurcated inner ends 38 which straddle the Sleeve 36 on the pin 35.

The support 19, which is closed by a cover 40, has switches 41 and 42 mounted therein. The switch 41 may be actuated manually by a cam 43 mounted on a rotatable rod 44 and having a notch 45 positioned to receive a roller 46 of the plunger of the switch '41. The rod 44 extends laterally in both directions (FIG. 1) where handle portions 47 are provided externally of the support for manual actuation of the switch 41. The switch 42 is of the normally open type while the switch 41 is of the normally closed type. An adjustable set screw 49, carried by a bracket 50 mounted on the housing 22, is positioned to close the switch 42 when the snubber 10 is in its normal position, with an adjustable screw 51 mounted on the cylinder 26 forced into engagement with the inner wall of the housing 22' by a spring 52. When the snubber is in this, its-normal position, the switch 42 is held against the set screw 49 so that the switch will be held closed thereby. If the snubber 10 should be rocked clockwise (FIG. 2) about its pivot 20, the switch will be moved away from the set screw 49 and will be free to open.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the switches 41 and 42 in a control circuit which is responsive to the advancing means 11. As an illustration, the circuit for the advancing means 11, in the present illustration, is under the control of a jogging switch 54 and a main switch 55 which, when closed, will energize a relay 56 to open normally closed contacts 57. When the advancing means 11 stops by opening the switch 55, as shown in FIG. 4, relay 56 is de-energized allowing contacts 57 to close completing a circuit through a winding of a solenoid valve 58. Operation of the valve from its normal spring actuated position to its operated position directs air under pressure from a supply line 59 through line 27 to the top of the cylinder and allows air to exhaust from beneath the piston through line 28 and an exhaust line 60.

Operation During normal operation of the material advancing apparatus, switch 55 is closed and the contacts 57 (FIG. 3) are open and held open until the unit 11 is de-energized by opening the switch 55. This may be accomplished by any suitable means which permits the contacts 57 to close when the material stops advancing. When this occurs, the snubber or the jaws of the snubber are operated immediately to grip the material and hold it against reverse movement until something causes de-energization of the solenoid valve to free the jaws for movement into open position.

In the present instance, this may be accomplished in The first and normal procedure would be the opening of contact 57 by closing switch 55 to energize unit 11 and relay 56. The second or manual procedure is through manual action of the rod 44 to cause the cam 43 to open the switch 41. The third is a safety feature to assure opening of the jaws of the snubher and freeing of the material, should the relay 56 fail to operate or should there be too long an interval of time between the new advancement of the material by the energization of the unit 11 and the energization of the relay 56. This action causes the closed jaws of the snubber to tend to follow movement of the material and in so doing, rock the support 19, moving the switch 42 away from the adjustable stop 49 to free it to open to deenergize the solenoid valve 58 and permit its action to normal position to cause actuation of the piston 60 to its up position to open the jaws. The jaws of the snubber when closed on the material may rock with the advancement of the material without harming the material but any pulling of the material through the jaws would result in damage to the material.

The jogging switch is manually actuated to by-pass the main switch 55 to drive the unit 11 during short intervals after cutting the material or cable 25 and during advancing the new leading end of the material or cable so that it may be secured to a takeup reel or the advancing means for the unit 1 1.

It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for advancing material including a unit operable to advance the material longitudinally variable distances in a given path, a snubber having relatively movable pivotal jaws disposed normally in open positions free of the material upon opposite sides of the path, parallel shafts for pivotally supporting the jaws, a holder for the shafts and pivotal jaws, means to support the holder for movement thereof in one direction from a normal position, means to stop the holder from moving beyond the normal position in a reverse direction to cause the jaws to hold the material against reverse movement when the jaws are closed on the material, and means responsive to a control circuit which while open will cause opening of the jaws and which while closed will cause closing the jaws on the material.

2. in an apparatus for advancing material according to claim 1 in which a normally closed first switch in the control circuit is held open during operation of the unit and is freed to close upon stopping of the unit.

3. In an apparatus for advancing material according to claim 1 in which a normally open second switch is disposed in the circuit, and an element mounted relative to the second switch to cause closing of the second switch when the holder is in its normal position, movement of the holder out of its normal poition causing relative movement of the second switch and the element to free the second switch to open.

4. In an apparatus for advancing material according to claim 2 in which a normally open second switch in the control circuit is held closed until the closed jaws are moved by the material and the material advancing to open the second switch, and a normally closed switch in the control circuit operable into open position regardless of the positions of the other switches.

5. In an apparatus for forming cables of predetermined lengths from strands during operation of a unit to advance a cable and strands forming the cable longitudinally in a given path, a snubber operable from a normal open position to firmly close and grip the cable short of the unit and hold it against reverse movement, means rendered effective upon stopping of the unit to operate the snubber into closed position on the cable, and means affected by advancement of the cable to cause the snubber to open and free the cable.

6. In an apparatus for forming cables according to claim 5 in which the snubber operating means includes an electrical control circuit having a normally closed switch held open during operation of the unit and freed to close when the unit is stopped to cause the snubber operating means to close the snubbers.

7. In an apparatus for advancing material including a unit operable to advance the material longitudinally variable distances in a given path, a snubber having relatively movable jaws, means to support the jaws for relative movement, reversible power means operable in a first direction to hold the jaws in open positions out of engagement with the material beyond each side thereof and operable in a reverse direction to move the jaws into closed positions to firmly grip the material and hold it against reverse movement, means rendered effective upon stopping the unit to operate the power means in the reverse direction, and means responsive to renewed advancement of the material by operation of the unit to cause the power means to move the jaws into their open positions free of the material.

8. In an apparatusfor advancing material according to claim 7 in which shafts support the jaws for rocking movements about fixed position axes, and the power means including a piston operatively connected to the jaws and movable in the first and reverse directions under pressures to force the jaws into open and closed positions.

9. In an apparatus for advancing material according to claim 7 in which the last named means includes an electrical control circuit for the power means closed by a normally closed switch, and means operated during operation of the advancing unit to open the switch to render the circuit ineffective until the advancing unit is stopped.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,810,573 Nadel Oct. 22, 1957 

